I’m not a big theist. I don’t believe that there is a God controlling the weather.

This is not an article on theology. My book, podcasts, and more about God can be found here.

I don’t believe God controls the weather.

But I do see the weather. I live in Portland, Oregon – we have a lot of weather.

And I read the news. It seems there is a lot of weather.

A lot.

What if the weather were trying to tell us something?

What if?

What if the world were trying to tell us something?

What if the weather were trying to tell us something?

If the weather were trying to tell us something – and I understand this is a very big supposition – what do you imagine it would be trying to tell us?

That we are doing a good job?

Or something else?

What if we were getting a clear message that we need to stop our insanity

Here’s what I think the universe is shouting at us:

Stop!

Stop!

Take stock, wait, pause.

I’m probably just putting what I would preach to the world at large into the weather’s mouth. Fair enough.

In either case.

We need to stop.

We need to stop and take a break.

We need to say ENOUGH!

We need to stop our striving and building and creating and making because we are making a mess.  We know that we are.

We know that we need to stop.

I don’t know how we stop globally.

However, I know how to do it locally.

Let it start with me.

Let me take some time off.

Let me look at the world that I have in front of me and say this is wonderful.

This is enough.

I am enough.

Let me say with my calm demeanor and love for the world to those who insist on complaining and causing more turmoil, “Please, stop. Please, rest. Please, join me.”

Always striving for more leaves us feeling empty.

We know that.

You know that.

The message condemning striving is as old as wisdom literature itself.

Ecclesiastes 2:10-12:
All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor.

Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.

So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done?…

There will always be things to do.

There will always be errands to run, messages to send, laundry, bills, and more. It is never a good time to take a break.

Taking a break, unfortunately, can cause the magnitude of our responsibilities to scream louder and louder their importance.

Do it anyhow.

Sitting still is not an easy thing to do. But we must. We must stop. We must start a revolution by stopping.

I come from the Jewish tradition. Judaism has always stressed the importance of the Sabbath.

Of saying enough, that we have enough, dayenu! (Dayenu – is the Hebrew word for “it would have been enough for us.”)

Slow down. Stop. If only for 20 minutes. Take time on a Friday night, light some candles, take a moment.

Be.

Franz Kafka wrote:
You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still, and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.

Please.

Please stop.

Please make a commitment that in your own way this week you will take a break from striving.

Please.

For all of our sakes.

With love, ​​​​​​​

Rabbi Brian

Visit Rabbi Brian’s website here